Thread: OOPing is available in several other languages

Hi

The book I'm using to learn C++ is "Object-Oriented Programming in C++" by Robert Lafore.

In the beginning I was under the impression OOP is the kind of C++-specific thing. But I think I was false. Perhaps OOPing is available in several other languages. Correct?

My other question is that what I am learning from the mentioned book, am I learning C++, or only a special feature of C++, i.e. OOP?

Object oriented analysis and design is independent of programming language. Object oriented programming is more about a way of thinking while programming (mapping object oriented design to code) and is not specific to any programming language. A number of programming languages have particular features that support object oriented programming, in the sense that an object oriented design artefacts can be mapped into particular language constructs. However, object oriented programming can be performed in any programming language (from assembler, up).

C++ is technically a multi-paradigm language, which means it has features that support programming based on one or more paradigms (a paradigm is conceptual system for describing things, or a particular structure of reasoning and thought processes). One of the paradigms is object orientation. Other paradigms supported by C++ include procedural, imperative, etc. Note that the paradigms can overlap, and they are not mutually exclusive. C++ does not require programming based on any paradigm and, if the programmer wishes, multiple paradigms may be employed in one program. In other words, C++ allows the programmer to mix and match techniques in some pragmatic manner that works for the task at hand.

Some object-oriented purists and zealots (and advocates of some object oriented languages) will also tell you that C++ is not a "pure" object oriented language, because it does not force the programmer to use object oriented techniques, does not disallow techniques related to other paradigms, and does not support some features that are supported by other object oriented languages. Yet other people criticise C++ because it supports some object oriented techniques (for example, multiple inheritance of implementation) that are specifically excluded by some other languages due to potential of being misused or poorly understood by programmers.